Viacom bets “iCarly” is next tween queen

Does “iCarly” have that Hillary Duff-stuff? Is she serious like Miley Cyrus?

Viacom’s Nickelodeon and Sony Music are betting big that 15-year-old “iCarly” star Miranda Cosgrove will be the next “tween” media goldmine, stepping into the shoes of Duff (she of the “Lizzie McGuire” series, multiple films, and music releases) earlier in the decade, and current golden goose Miley Cyrus, aka “Hannah Montana.”

The challenge is significant if Nickelodeon can steal some tween thunder from Walt Disney, which is home to both the Lizzie McGuire and Hannah Montana franchises, and the future home to a show by hot boy band The Jonas Brothers .

The time may be right, given the negative buzz Cyrus got from sexually provocative pictures. That said Cyrus has a new album coming out in July, and she may easily bounce back into the public’s good graces.

Nickelodeon and Sony Music will launch tomorrow the soundtrack to “iCarly” — a show in which Cosgrove’s teenage character produces Webcasts from her attic — hoping to spark Cosgrove’s career as a recording artist. She’s got help — talent development executive Jay Landis, who helped launch the music endeavors of Duff and others at Disney.

Veteran rockers AC/DC are set to become the next major band to sell a new album only through Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, a move that highlights the growing music-industry clout of Wal-Mart. (WSJ)